Hundreds march in Syria as Israeli troops advance into Quneitra

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Damascus, Homs, and Daraa on Friday to protest repeated Israeli military operations in southern Syria. The rallies were triggered by the death of a man with a disability, identified by state media as Moaz, who was killed by Israeli fire during an incursion in Daraa province earlier this week.

An AFP correspondent in Daraa observed hundreds of participants at one of the gatherings, noting that several demonstrators waved Syrian flags. Taysir al-Hariri, a protester at the scene, told the news agency that the crowd aimed to send a message to the world that the country remained united against the incursions. He stated that Syria opposes any attempt to tamper with its national security.

State television aired footage of marchers holding posters with the slogan "We are all Moaz." The phrase referred to the disabled man killed by the strikes. Outside a United Nations building in the capital, the family of a Syrian man seized by Israeli forces held up signs reading "I want my dad" as they demanded his release.

State media confirmed on Friday that Israeli forces had advanced into part of Quneitra province. Troops blocked several roads, bulldozed olive groves, and set up checkpoints in the area. Local residents reported that soldiers had also detained individuals in the region.

The military activity follows the rise of a new Syrian government in December 2024, which ended the rule of Bashar al-Assad. Since then, the Israeli military has conducted hundreds of strikes and frequent incursions. Israeli troops also entered a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, an area that had separated the two countries' forces since 1974. Israel has vowed to maintain a security zone in the south while seeking a larger demilitarized area.